Hoopla!

17 Feb Hoopla!

I’ve dabbled with embroidery a few times over the years but have never actually completed a hoop. I found the book Hoopla (love the name) by Kirsty Neale at my Mom’s house a couple of months ago and it immediately made me want to bust out my supplies again.

Kirsty has come up with 100 ideas that you can do with embroidery hoops. 100! They are incredibly creative and use a variety of materials that will help you de-stash and make your own works of art. She also shows you how to decorate the hoop, an often neglected piece of fabric art.

I figured since I borrowed/stole my mom’s book I should make her something from it for Christmas. The fox on p. 78 immediately stole my heart and became my first completed project.

The start of the fox was a little rough and I had a few choice words with my photocopier. I had a hard time figuring out how to blow up the images by 200%. I would get half of the foxes face, part of his arm, and a cut-off sweater. It was not felt-tastic. With a lot of tape, and many failed attempts, the fox came together enough that i could fill in any missing pieces.

We didn’t have any toothpicks to use for the stick, so I used a match instead. No worries, I shaved off the flammable tip so my mom’s hoop doesn’t burst into flames.

I have a confession to make. I never realized that the thread that I used for years to make friendship bracelets was the same thread originally intended for embroidery. At 8 years old, everything seems to be made for the reason you need it: to show your BFFs that colored thread will bond you forever. I was spoiled during my first embroidery class because we used Finca Perle Cotton to learn the different stitches. I fell in love with it mostly because it’s pretty, but also because it makes your stitches look really nice, even when they are messy.

Straight stitches create the illusion of fur on the fox’s body and also outline his heart. His eyes are french knots and his nose is a small piece of black felt.

I finished my furry friend on a plane ride out to Colorado and was so excited when I finally gave it to my mom. I sadly had to take it back from her shortly after so I could finish the back of the hoop and take pictures for this post, but hopefully she will get her gift back soon. As for the book, I might have to purchase my own copy because I’m not ready to give it up just yet.

And I’m guessing you’ve already found the one project in the book which uses embroidery threads for *exactly* the same purpose as your 8-year-old self? As a fellow childhood-friendship-bracelet-maker who’d spent several months surrounded by embroidery thread I couldn’t resist it for a minute longer!